Guess Who’s Back…Back Again…Navy Rates…Tell A Friend

You read that right. Seems like Christmas came early for the enlisted Sailors. The big wigs in the Navy have apparently heard the grumblings of the enlisted Sailors and have reinstated the Navy rates! For those of you who do not, Navy rates are a big deal for enlisted Sailors. Rates are a Naval tradition that dates back over 200 years. In a sense, the rates reflect the identity of that Sailor in the Navy. Enlisted Sailors, both present and past, are fiercely protective of their rates. Just ask a Boatswain’s Mate if he or she wants to be called (Chief) Petty Officer. Heck no lol. I think it was a smart move. Outside of official documents and emails, most Sailors continued to call each other by their rates anyway. 

Even in the office today, Sailors are walking around  making sure to call each other by their rates. It is a glorious sight to behold. Again, congratulations to all the enlisted Sailors for getting your rates back…you have earned them!

-P2DT 

Hip Hop Hooraaay Hooooo Heeeeeey Hoooooo

In order to curb my laziness and avoid gaining 500 pounds over the Christmas stand down, I signed up for the Hip Hop Run (HHR). The HHR is just as it sounds…a hip hop themed run. You can select either a 5K or 10K. Since I have already run several 5Ks, I signed up for the 10K. There will be live music and DJs and just a bunch of people who love running and hip hop. It looks like a lot of fun. For participating in the run, you get a cool tshirt, an AWESOME medal and a swag bag. I found out about the run on Groupon so I did not have to pay full price…which is always a plus. The race is on 29JAN17. Gives me plenty of time to get back into running shape lol.
What races are y’all running in the new year?

-P2DT

Bruh, I Do Not Work Here

So I was in this big open cubicle space minding my own business and working on my fitness report (FITREP). Suddenly the phone starts ringing about two cubicles away from me. I hear it ringing, but it is not my desk…heck not even the department I work in so I do not move to answer it. I have no idea how to answer it (as far as what I am suppose to say when I pick up). Suddenly, this guy starts yelling at me (and maybe yelling is a strong word) and saying that if I am going to work there, I need to answer the phone. I tried telling him that I did not work there, but he kept yelling. I started to get up but a Chief ended up answering the call. I ended up going back to what I was doing and finishing up my FITREP and leaving. I think the guy thought I was an enlisted member. The reason I say that is when he saw me in the hallway, he was all apologetic…like he did not mean to yell and be a grumpy old man. 

I wanted to be like first of all, you hear the phone ringing too…if it is that important, why did you not move to answer it? Second of all, I do not work here. I have no clue how y’all answer the phone here and I would have no clue how to help the person on the other end. My issue is not that he asked me to answer the phone…it is the way in which he asked. I swear some people are just rude for no reason sometimes.

-P2DT

Last Day With My Crew And New Orders

So today is my last day on my current ship and with my crew. We are finishing up turnover with the new crew and we should be off the ship by 0830. Even though we are turning over early, it will not be an early day. We have a full day of the Sailors favorite past time…general military training (GMT). GMT is exactly what it sounds like…training that all Sailors have to undergo. It usually has to do with things like drug and alcohol safety, stand down safety, etc. They are usually not the most fun of trainings, but they are a necessary evil of military life lol.

The crew seems to want me to stay (not that I am some all important person lol), but think it is best for my career that I am going to a DDG. It will allow me to learn how legacy ships and the Navy work. I think they are right. Maybe for my next sea tour I will try to come back to LCS…if they ever have Supply Officers on the ship. I could always try to get a shore tour at the LCS Squadron. Hmm, we shall see.

Speaking of my new DDG, guess who got her new orders. I am officially going to the USS Pinckney (DDG 91). I received an official welcome aboard from the officer I am replacing. He told me I would be handling disbursing, sales and postal with some supply management and food service mixed in. Sounds like I will be busy, but at least now I have a lane (or three lol) and know my role. I will also probably have a couple of collateral duties as well. I do not have to report until the end of January so I am going to shoot for reporting then. It is usually easier to turnover at the end of the month because reports are usually due then.

Well off to my last day.

-P2DT 

Last Duty Day (At Least For Awhile)

So today is my last duty day with my current crew. It will definitely be nice not to have to spend the night on a ship for at least a few weeks. Today should be a pretty chill duty day…although yesterday we did have a toxic gas leak so there is that lol. I have a late watch, which means everyone should be sleep and there should be little chance of a casualty happening. But with my luck…lol.

We are almost done with turnover with the new crew. The good thing about Supply on LCS is that we do not have a lot of inventory nor do we have a lot of paperwork. This makes turning over with a new crew much easier than on a legacy ship. I have definitely been taking notes so I have some ideas on what to do during my turnover. 

Well I am writing this post in my car, so let me sign out so I can get to my ship and grab some chow before the day starts up. 

-P2DT 

Sooooo…Yeah

Hey guys and gals. Sorry it has been over a month since I posted. Life has been a little hectic. Last time I posted, I had gone on my first underway. I was suppose to have gone on a few more since then. Sooooo…yeah, that did not happen lol. Long story short, the ship continued to have issues and our Commanding Officer (CO) thought it best not to risk getting underway and something going wrong. 

While I was looking forward to getting underway for a bit, it did allow me to get qualified as Officer of the Deck (OOD) In Port. It is one of the wickets I must complete to get my Surface Warfare Supply Corps Officer (SWSCO) pin. It is expected that first tour Supply Corps officers earn their SWSCO during their first sea tour. The sooner you earn it, the better it looks. Usually, as long as you earn it no later than 18 months after you have arrived at your ship, you are on track. 

Sooooo…yeah, being OOD In Port has been an interesting experience for me. On my first day watch, we had a toxic gas leak. Like my second day watch, we had a fire. I knew what to do, but the problem was my radio kept breaking up so I could not hear what the problem was and then when I finally heard what it was, it was not described as a fire. Luckily, no one was hurt and it was not a major fire, but it definitely stressed me out. I never want anyone to get hurt because I did not call away something fast enough. No one was upset with me because the information passed to me was incorrect. I am never standing a day watch again lol. Bad things always seem to happen during my watch. 

I am getting moved to a new platform. When I was assigned the billet, it was unfunded. Sooooo…yeah, they are not going to fund it. Which means I have to be moved. While I like the crew I am with, I think it is actually for the best for my career. Right now, a Chief Petty Officer (CPO) is the SUPPO. I have been dubbed the Logistics Officer (LogO). I really did not have a role. Honestly, the CPO does not need me. The way LCS is set up, a lot of the paperwork that Supply normally handles is handled off ship. Being LogO, I ended up doing some paperwork, but a lot of the stuff I did was stuff that the enlisted Sailors normally did. I did not mind…it really is a team environment…but I think it would have hurt me in the long run. My CPO definitely tried to give me Supply Officer tasks, but with having all the designation letters, there was only so much he could do. The next platform I am suppose to go to is a Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG). A DDG should be a good experience. There are only two Supply officers on the ship so it will be me and SUPPO…which means I need to go back and review all my supply stuff from BQC to make sure I am ready. I am suppose to be making the move in January, just waiting on my orders. A couple of my friends are on DDGs so I am going to touch bases with them and get their thoughts. I have made some good contacts since my time with LCS so I definitely know people I can go to if I need assistance. 

Sooooo…yeah, that has been what has been going on with me. Hopefully, I am able to start posting more on the regular.

-P2DT 

Guess Who Went On Her First Underway

Sorry I have been MIA…I have finally started spending more time with my crew and they have been keeping me busy. My first underway was only a few days, but it was a good experience. 

I stayed in a stateroom with one other female officer. It was by no means huge, but it was pretty spacious for a ship. I also had pretty decent storage space…I could definitely fit a lot of stuff…which will be good whenever I actually go on deployment. The bed and pillow were AWEFUL lol…they were like rock hard. The sheets were not any better lol. I will definitely be bringing a sleeping bag and pillow with me next time lol.

I met my Chief and junior Sailors that I will be working with. They seem like a great crew…I look forward to working with them more. I ate in the wardroom  (where the officers eat) and learned some of the customs the crew uses. While I did not get to work on my qualifications, I did my best to be useful where I could be. I also got to attend a lot of meetings with the other officers and senior enlisted members. 

So that was my first underway…looks like I am a real Sailor now lol.

Apparently Failure IS An Option

So part of my training is that I have to become qualified with a pistol and a rifle. Well apparently, me and pistols do not get a long. I just could not qualify on the pistol. I was sooooo disappointed in myself. I wish they would give us more gun training. It is my understanding that at boot camp, they get quite a bit of time to practice so they can qualify or at least be ready to qualify when they get to their first command. At OCS, we only shot one time and if you did not qualify that one time you did not get to reshoot. 

This time, my first line coach tried to give me some tips the first time I shot and I tried to correct what I was doing wrong. My second line coach did not really give me too many suggestions. I was only like 20 points off during my reshoot. I think if I had one more chance, I would have passed. I hate feeling like I am inferior. I am one of only two female officers in my crew and the only black female officer so I feel like I have to be great at every thing (I know that is not possible, but still lol). I know I will pass the next time…it is just a little frustrating that I could not pass it the first time. Hopefully, it will not affect my ability to go with my crew. Right now, I have to wait about another three (3) weeks before I can try again. 

On a positive note, I passed my rifle qualification. Go figure right…apparently I cannot aim with a pistol, but I can with a rifle. So at least I am not completely useless lol.

-P2DT 

Fleet Week In San Francisco?!?!?

So guess who might get to participate in Fleet Week in San Fracisco…this girl here. For those of you who do not know, Fleet Week San Francisco is “an annual public event that honors the contributions of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces while advancing cooperation and knowledge among civilian- and military-based Humanitarian Assistance personnel.”

Nothing is set in stone yet, but hopefully I find out some time this week whether I can participate. If so, this will be my first time out and working on a ship. I would love the opportunity to spend time on a ship before I deploy for my first tour. If I get to go, I will definitely take some pictures.

I Survived The OC

So guess who got OC sprayed today…that is right…me. What is OC spray you may ask. Oleoresin Capiscum (OC) spray is basically pepper spray. In order for me to do my job, I must complete some training that involved OC spray. 

I volunteered to go first because if I witnessed anyone else freak out I might not have done it (okay, I would have, but I would have freaked out even worse). So the way it works is you close your eyes and your mouth and they spray you with the OC spray. You then have to open your eyes and answer how many fingers they are holding up. When they first sprayed me and told me to open my eyes I could not. My eyes are already sensitive so adding that OC spray did not help (plus I am blind without my glasses). It took about 30 seconds to a minute for me to be able to open my eyes even a little bit. After I was able to kind of see, I had to go through five (5) different stations where I had to perform various activities that included strikes and takedowns. The course honestly did not last that long…maybe 10 minutes (and that is a high estimation), but you could feel every minute of it. It felt like it took me forever to walk through the different stations (we could not run). Luckily, I only have to do this once  (as long as I do not lose my certificate…which I will PDF and make a bazillion copies of). I will have to do a different version of this in a few years if I have the same job, but I will worry about that when the time comes lol.

Bruh, that stuff is no joke. It is like dragon fire from the pits of hell have been unleashed on your eyes and your face. It burns sooooo much (I was hoping I would be on of the lucky few not affected by it, but alas I was not lol). It has almost been about 12 hours and my eyes and face still burn somewhat. I will have a reflash once I shower and wash my face again. Not looking forward to that at all. But I survived the OC and that is what matters lol.

(I could not record myself being sprayed so here is a YouTube video of someone being OC spray.)

-P2DT